Pray. Believe. Jump and Scream.

I was surprised when I found out I was pregnant with our daughter Galilee, number 4. It took about a week for Brandon to even believe me after I told him I was pregnant. When I was about 5-6 weeks along, I started having serious signs of a miscarriage. We’d already lost two babies, a stillborn at twenty four weeks and another at twelve. When I started having signs that I was losing those babies I had more faith than ever before in my life. I spent countless hours praying for them, speaking life into them, believing with all my heart that God would do the impossible and the babies would live. Those prayers weren’t answered the way I wanted and I was shattered.

When miscarriage symptoms started again, I felt so defeated. I remember sitting there just waiting for it to be over, trying to figure out how I was going to tell Brandon. All the sudden I thought...”What are you doing?! Why are you just sitting here?!” And instead of resigning myself to the fact that it was happening, I started praying earnestly God would spare this baby. That He would hear us and rescue this child for us. I told Brandon what was going on and we asked a good friend of ours to pray with us. We prayed boldly and specifically that this baby would be spared and grow healthy and to term. Throughout that day the symptoms went away. From that time on, my pregnancy went on without incident. Fast forward to the day that baby was born. I had all our other babies at home and had planned the same with Galilee. Because she was taking so long (so so soooooo long), we ended up going to the hospital for her delivery. There I had a doctor whom I hadn’t seen before for this pregnancy and who knew nothing of the miscarriage symptoms I’d experienced early on. After Galilee was born, she was checking everything over and out of the blue asked if I’d had heavy bleeding during my pregnancy. I was surprised but told her that I had right at the beginning and thought that I was losing the baby. She held up the placenta and pointed out some white spots on it. She said...”These are calcifications. They show that there was damage done to the placenta and the white spots are the EVIDENCE OF HEALING!” I was speechless. Nobody could tell me that God hadn’t moved in Galilee’s life. No one could deny that He had answered my prayer. He heard us. He showed up. And even though my initial response was a lack of faith, He was faithful.

How many times have I stopped short of the response? How many times have I assumed that because the sky didn’t open up and drop an answer in my lap that there was no answer?

So the lesson here? Don’t stop praying. Don’t stop believing just because you haven’t yet seen the answer you want. The miracle you need. Don’t assume that because you’ve been disappointed before that you’ll be disappointed forever.

Pray. Believe. Jump and scream and pound on the door of Heaven if you have to, but don’t give up just because it hasn’t happened yet. Maybe today it’ll be a yes. Maybe it’ll be a no, or maybe it’ll seem really really quiet and you wonder if all this time on your knees is accomplishing anything at all. If you’re even being heard.

But do it. Pray while you’re walking through the grocery store and sitting at work. Intercede while you wash dishes or while the rest of your family falls asleep. If you get a yes, praise Him, give Him the glory, tell everyone you know. And if you get a no? Praise Him, give Him the glory, tell everyone you know. Don’t stop praying.

Pray for that healing.

Pray for strength to endure the storm.

Pray for freedom from debt.

Pray for that relationship to be restored.

Pray for the salvation of your loved one.

Pray for that baby.